Actuator having releasable latch



March 25, 1969 -p SPlNELLl ET AL 3,435,390

I ACTUATOR HAVING RELEASABLE LATCH Filed Oct. 26, 1967 Sheet of 2 INVENTORS: FRANK .FP/A/ELL/ oa/w/lvm M. w/krae March 25, 1969 p, SPINELU ET AL 3,435,390

ACTUATOR HAVING RELEASABLE LATCH Filed Oct. 26, 1967 Sheet i of 2 4; z Q x "I,

F 5 j" P" 4/ PK 29% INVENTORS: Fk/M/K l. JP/A/EAL/ paM/M/z M- 140K702 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,435,390 ACTUATOR HAVING RELEASABLE LATCH Frank P. Spinelli, Brookside, and Dominik M. Wiktor,

Cranford, N.J., assignors to Automatic Switch Company, a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 26, 1967, Ser. No. 678,261 Int. Cl. H01h 9/20 US. Cl. 335-161 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to actuating devices such as those used to transmit the motion of a solenoid armature to the switches of an electrical relay.

In certain installations, it is desirable to employ an actuating device having a part which can be moved in one direction by a first operator, to perform some function, but which for safety or other reasons can be returned to its initial orientation by a second operator regardless of the condition of the first operator. For example, the actuating device may form part of an electrical relay in which the first operator is a solenoid armature. When the solenoid is energized, movement of the armature is transmitted to a part which may in turn close a switch. Under certain conditions, it may be desirable to return the part, by means of a second solenoid armature, to its position in which the switch is open, and this action may be required regardless of whether or not the first solenoid has been deenergized.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an actuating device including a part movable in one direction upon activation of one operator, and movable in the opposite direction upon activation of a second operator regardless of whether or not the first operator continues to be activated.

To accomplish this and other objectives, the invention provides the first operator, which may be called the activating operator, with a latch adapted to engage a detent in the movable part, which may be .a slidable bar. Thus, when the activating operator moves, its movement is transmitted to the bar via the latch and detent. An unlatching member is movably mounted on the bar, and is adapted to be moved by the second operator, which may be called the trip operator, to release the engagement between the latch and detent. With the latch engagement released the bar is free to be moved in the opposite direction, such as by the continued movement of the trip operator.

A feature of the invention is the provision in the bar of angled slots having offset ends which slidably accommodate guide pins fixed to the actuator frame. Thus, as the bar moves longitudinally, it .also experiences a component of transverse movement. Resilient pressure applied to the lateral edges of the bar serves to seat the guide pins in the offset regions of the slots and thereby resiliently hold the bar in either of its extreme positions. Consequently, neither operator need be constantly activated to maintain the bar in either of its extreme positions, once the bar reaches such a position. Additionally, the resilient pressure may be supplied by springs within switches arranged to be actuated by the bar.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an electrical relay incorporating an actuating device according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the relay;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the relay;

FIGS. 47 are fragmentary elevational views of the bar and latch in various positions; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the bar and unlatching member.

The actuating device chosen to illustrate the present invention is shown incorporated in a relay having a framework including a base 10 supporting an inverted U-shaped frame 11. Mounted between the vertical arms 12 of the frame 11, by bolts 14, are two banks of switches adapted to be controlled by the actuating device. The switches 13 are supported adjacent to the inner face of the top wall 15 of the frame 11 with their push buttons 16 pointing toward the base 10, and the switches -17 are supported adjacent to the base 10 with their push buttons 18 pointing toward the frame top Wall 15.

All the switches 13 and 17 are identical, and each may be constructed as shown best in FIG. 3. A housing 21, through which the bolts 14 pass, supports a pair of stationary contacts 22 electrically connected to terminals 23 on the exterior of the housing. A pair of movable contacts 24, mounted on an electrically conductive strip 25, is normally urged toward the stationary contacts 22 by a compression spring 26. The spring is seated at one end within a cup held by the housing, and at its other end against the strip 25. The inner end of the push button 16 or 18 is adjacent to the face of the strip 25 opposite the spring 26. When no external pressure is applied to the push button, as is true of the push button 16 in FIG. 3, the spring 26 is free to press the movable contacts 24 against the stationary contacts 22 and close the switch. However, when the push button is depressed, as is true of the push button 18 in FIG. 3, the strip 25 and movable contacts 24 are held away from the stationary contacts 22, against the force of spring 26, and the switch is open.

The portion of the actuating device which operates the push buttons 16 and 18 of the switches 13 and 17, respectively, is a bar 29 slidably arranged within slots 30 in the vertical arms 12 of the frame 11. The length of the slots 30 exceeds the width (i.e., the vertical dimension in FIGS. 2 and 3) of the bar 29 so as to permit transverse (i.e., vertical in FIGS. 2 and 3) movement of the bar as well as longitudinal (i.e., horizontal in FIG. 2) movement. The bar 29 is located between the rows of push buttons 16 and 18 and in alignment with these push buttons (see FIG. 3).

The bar 29 is provided with two parallel slots 31 (FIGS. 2 and 4-8) each arranged at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the bar. Each slot terminates at its ends in olfset regions 32 and 33, each oifset region lying on the side of the slot axis opposite the lateral edge of .the bar to which it is closest. Slidably accommodated within each slot 31 is a guide pin 34 fixed with respect to the frame 11. Each guide pin is located adjacent to the outer face of one of the arms 12 of frame 11, and perpendicularly intersects one of the slots 30. For convenience, the guide pins 34 may form part of a single C-shaped (see FIG. 1) wire 35 which extends around one of the open sides of the frame 11, the central portion of the wire 35 fitting into notches in the edges of arms 12, and the ends of the wire being snapped into holes in the arms.

The bar 29 has two extreme positions. In one extreme position, illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the guide pins 34 Patented Mar. 25, 1969 rest in the offsets 32. Consequently, the bar 29 is in its lowest and rightwardmost position as viewed in FIG. 2. In the other extreme position, the guide pins 34 rest in the offsets 33, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, whereby the bar 29 is in its highest and leftwardmost position, as viewed in FIG. 2. It will be appreciated that due to the angle between the slots 31 and the longitudinal axis of the bar 29, when the latter is shifted longitudinally, it also experiences a component of transverse movement. Thus, when the bar is in the position shown in FIG. 2, which 'will be referred to as its tripped position, it is out of engagement with the push buttons 16, but presses the push buttons 18 toward the base 10. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 3, the switches 13 are closed and the switches 17 are open. On the other hand, when the bar 29 is in the position shown in FIG. 5, it is out of engagement with the push buttons 18, but presses the push buttons 16 toward the top wall of frame 11. As a result, the switches 17 are closed and the switches 13 are open.

The bar 29 is resiliently maintained in each extreme position because the springs 26 in the switches being held open apply a transverse force to the bar tending to cause engagement between the guide pins 34 and the offset regions of the slots 31 in which the pins are located. For example, when the bar 29 is in the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the springs 26 of switches 17 urge the bar upwardly, thus maintaining the engagement between the guide pins 34 and offsets 32. Consequently, the bar will not move due to vibrations, shocks, or inadvertent forces applied to the device. However, obviously the bar will be moved by a force applied longitudinally to it, if the force is large enough to overcome the pressure of the springs 26 on the bar.

In the present example, the means for moving the bar 29 between its two extreme positions are in the form of two solenoids. The activating solenoid 38 serves to move the bar 29 from its tripped position (FIGS. 2-4) leftwardly (as viewed in FIG. 2) to its activated position (FIGS. 5 and 6). The activating solenoid 38 has an armature 39 which moves leftwardly when the solenoid 38 is energized. This movement is transmitted to the bar 29 via a crank-shaped latch 40 pivotally mounted at one end on the armature 39, the free end of the latch being adapted to engage a detent 41 formed in the upper edge of the bar. A tension spring 42, having one end secured to the frame 11 and its other end eccentrically secured to a rotatable disk 43 fixed to the latch 40, tends to rotate the latch 40 in a clockwise direction in FIG. 2, and hence urges the latch into the detent 41. The spring 42 also serves as a return spring for the armature 39 by constantly urging the latter toward its deenergized position shown in FIG. 2.

The bar 29 carries an unlatching member 45, illustrated as a plate bent to assume a U-shaped cross-section (see FIG. 8). The member 45 is pivoted to the bar 29 by a pivot pin 46 passing through the aligned holes 47 and 48 in the bar 29 and member 45, respectively. The bar 29 is also provided with a longitudinally extending slot 49, a portion of which registers with a pair of parallel angled slots 50 in the sides of the unlatching member 45. The slots 49 and 50 are arranged at an acute angle to one another, as may be seen clearly in FIGS. 4-7, and the free end of a crank-shaped pin 53 extends through all the slots 49 and 50 in a direction perpendicular to the bar 29.

The other end of the pin 53 is secured to the armature 54 of a trip solenoid 55. A tension spring 56, connected between the base 10 and the armature 54 constantly urges the armature toward the left in FIG. 1. Movement of the armature in this direction, when the parts are in the position shown in FIG. 1-4 is limited by the contact between the pin 53 and the left end of the slot 49 in bar 29. The force of the spring 56 is not sufficient to overcome the pressure of springs 26 in switches 17,

so no movement of the parts takes place. It may be e mentioned that if the device is mounted vertically with the switches 13 and 17 on top, the spring 56 may be eliminated since its function is performed by gravity. When the solenoid 55 is energized, the armature 54, and hence the pin 53, move toward the right in FIG. 1, against the force of spring 56.

The operation of the device is as follows: assume the parts are in the tripped condition illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, and it is desired to close the switches 17 and open the switches 13. It may be, for example, that certain equipment connected to a power source via switches 17 is to be energized, and other equipment connected to a power source via switches 13 is to be deenergizcd. To accomplish this, the activating solenoid 38 is energized, resulting in movement of the armature 39, and hence the latch 40 and bar 29, toward the left in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. This movement continues until the offset regions 33 reach their respective guide pins 34, as shown in FIG. 5. The bar 29 will remain in this condition, holding switches 13 open and allowing switches 17 to close, whether or not the solenoid 38 remains energized. If the solenoid 38 is deenergized, the pressure of springs 26 of switches 13 resiliently holds the bar 29 in place due to the engagement of guide pins 34 and offsets 33. The force of spring 42 urging the armature 39 rightwardly is not sufiicient to overcome the pressure of springs 26.

If for some reason, it is now desired to open the switches 17 and close the switches 13, the trip solenoid 55 is energized, causing movement of the armature 54 and pin 53 toward the right in FIG. 5. During the initial portion of its travel, the pin 53 slides along the slots 49 and 50, from the position of FIG. 5 to that of FIG. 6. Due to the angle between the slots 49 and 50, this movement of the pin 53 causes a counterclockwise rotation (as viewed in FIG. 5) of the unlatching member 45 with respect to the bar 29, and as a result, the end 57 of the member 45 lifts the latch 40 out of the lower region of the detent 41 to the position shown in FIG. 6. The latch 40 has thus been elevated into the path of horizontal movement of the inclined surface 58 extending between the detent 41 and the upper lateral edge of bar 29.

Once the pin 53 reaches the right end of slot 49, continued rightward movement of the armature 54 and pin 53 is transmitted to the bar 29, and the bar moves toward the right until the offsets 32 reach their respective guide pins 34. If the solenoid 38 has been deenergized throughout this movement, spring 42 maintains the latch 40 against the right hand wall of detent 41, as shown in FIG. 6, during the entire movement of the bar 29 from the position of FIG. 5 to that of FIG. 4.

More significant is the fact that the armature 54 and pin 53 can move the bar 29' from the position of FIG. 6 to that of FIG. 4 even if the activating solenoid 38 is energized and hence the latch 40 is held against movement toward the right. The reason is that, since the latch 40 is held by member 45 in horizontal alignment with the inclined surface 5 8, upon rightward movement of the bar 29, the latch simply slides along the surface 58, as shown in FIG. 7, and then along the upper lateral edge of bar 29. It will be appreciated, therefore, that when the bar is in its tripped position (FIGS. l-4), energization of the trip solenoid 55 renders the latch 40 ineffective and also causes movement of the bar to its tripped position even if the solenoid 38 is energized at the same time. Thus, if the trip solenoid 55 forms part of a safety circuit which is completed when an unsafe condition arises, the bar 29 cannot be shifted to or maintained in its activated condition until the unsafe condition is corrected.

It should be mentioned that although the activating and trip operators have been illustrated as solenoids 38 and 55, respectively, other types of operators, such as push buttons, could be employed to replace either or both solenoids. Furthermore, the bar 29 need not necessarily actuate switches, as described above, but may be used for any suitable purpose such as actuation of a valve.

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form only, and by way of example, and many variations may be made in the invention which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are included in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An actuating device comprising:

(a) a fi'ame,

(b) a bar slidable longitudinally with respect to said frame, said bar having a detent,

(c) an activating operator for moving said bar in one direction,

(d) a latch for engaging said detent, said latch carried by said operator but moveable with respect to said operator, whereby upon engagement of said latch and detent movement of said operator is transmitted to said bar via said latch,

(e) an unlatching member mounted on said bar and movable with respect to said bar, a portion of said member being located adjacent to said latch whereby movement of said member with respect to said bar serves to remove said latch from said detent, and

(f) means engaging said unlatching member to release the engagement between said latch and detent and permit movement of said bar in the other direction regardless of the condition of said first operator.

2. An actuating device as defined in claim 1 including cooperating means on said frame and bar for resiliently holding said bar against movement when the latter is in at least one of its extreme positions of travel.

3. An actuating device as defined in claim 1 wherein said bar is formed with at least one guide slot arranged at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of said bar, and including a guide pin fixed with respect to said frame and slidably accommodated within said slot, the cooperation of said pin and slot causing said bar to have a component of transverse movement as it moves longitudinally, said slot having an offset region at at least one of its ends, and resilient means for applying a transverse force to said bar tending to maintain said guide pin and offset region in engagement so as to resiliently hold the bar against movement.

4. An actuating device as defined in claim 3 including a switch adapted to be controlled by the device, said switch having stationary and movable contacts, said resilient means urging said movable contact to one position, and said bar holding said movable contact in another position against the force of said resilient means when said guide pin and offset region are in engagement.

5. An actuating device as defined in claim 3 wherein said slot has an offset region at each of its ends, each olfset region lying on the side of the axis of said slot opposite to the lateral edge of said bar to which it is closest, andresilient means for applying transverse forces in opposite directions to both lateral edges of said bar.

6. An actuating device as defined in claim 5 including at least two switches adapted to be controlled by the device, one of said switches being adjacent to each lateral edge of said bar, each switch having stationary and movable contacts, and each switch including said resilient means urging said movable contact to a normal position, said bar holding the movable contact of one of said switches in another position against the force of its resilient means while permitting the movable contact of the other switch to assume its normal position when said guide pin and one of said ofiset regions are in engagement, and said bar holding the movable contact of the other of said switches in another position against the force of its resilient means while permitting the movable contact of said one switch to assume its normal position when said guide pin and the other of said otfset regions are in engagement.

7. An actuating device as defined in claim 1 wherein said unlatching member is pivotally mounted on said bar and is formed with a slot, said bar having a slot partially in registry with said unlatching member slot, the axes of said slots being arranged at an acute angle with respect to each other, and a pin carried by said trip operator accommodated and slidable within said slots, whereby movement of said trip operator and pin in one direction causes rotation of said unlatching member and removal of said latch from said detent.

8. An actuating device as defined in claim 7 wherein the location of said pin and its path of movement is so related to the location of said bar and slots that the continued movement of said trip operator and pin after release of said latch is transmitted to said bar and serves to move said bar to one of its extreme positions.

9. An actuating device as defined in claim 1 including a spring for urging said latch into said detent, said spring also urging said activating operator in a direction opposite to its direction of movement when it is actuated to move said bar.

10. An actuating device as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of said operators is a movable solenoid armature.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,106,625 10/1963 Marley 335--l20 3,184,664 5/1965 Cunningham 335167 3,201,544 8/1965 Diamant 335- BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. H. BROOME, Assistant Examiner. 

